At Cordon Castle


    After a few hours'' journey, Be and Jayra finally arrived at the castle. Getting off Be''s back, Jayra handed her a coat to wear before she went into one of the private shifting spaces built near every gate of the castle. Before long, Be was back to her human form, walking out of the room with a smile for her sister-inw.


    "Let''s go inside," Be said once she got dressed. Instantly hugging Jayra''s arm to pull her with her, they both walked inside the castle.


    "ra and Lord Gs look good together, don''t you think?" Be noted. She was d that Gs was there to take care of ra. In all honesty, she had wanted toe to her old friend''s ce to have a sleepover and personally take care of her, but Gs seemed to have no intention of leaving ra any time soon.


    "Well, they don''t look as good as you and Lord Osman once you two get together," Jayra cheekily replied with a chuckle. As usual, her sister-inw indulged in this natural habit of hers to tease her about Osman whenever she could.


    "Here you go again..." Be rolled her eyes as she chortled. "Still, I do hope that ra can finally move on from our King and start opening her eyes and heart to other men. Lord Gs is honestly a good choice. But then, the downside of giving him a chance would I guess be his father."


    "Hmm, indeed," Jayra nodded. "They look good together, and I can tell that Lord Gs truly cares and has deep feelings for Lady ra." She gave Be a smile. "Still, I''m d that you decided to go back with me instead of asking Lord Gs to bring me back here."


    Her sister-inw knew about her intentions to stay behind and take care of ra, so it was rather surprising that Be offered to take her to the castle.


    "Well, I''d feel bad for staying there after I saw the effort that Lord Gs was putting in," Be casually shook her head. "Besides, I want ra to notice his efforts as well, so it''s better that he stayed there instead of me. I''ll just check on her tomorrow if needed."


    Walking through the hallways of the castle, Be unknowingly let out a heavy sigh upon thinking about Lord Osman. She couldn''t help but wonder if thetter stayed in their pack''s territory with her brother since the two had a mission there.


    Osman had promised her that he would tell her about his adventure days as a pirate one story at a time, but he was unfortunately quite busy today and in the following days.


    "What is it?" Jayra asked her with a frown, having noticed her sister-inw''s mood.


    "Oh, nothing, Sis. It''s just that I thought about Lord Osman''s origins..." Be replied.


    Jayra hummed in thought. She already knew about the man''s origins already, how the admiral was an abandoned baby that grew up under a pirate''s wing.


    Be then turned to Jayra and curiously asked, "Sis, did you try looking out for clues in regards to knowing more about your family?"


    "Hmm, I did, but it''s hard to search for something when you don''t even have enough clues to start," Jayra shrugged. "In the end, I stopped my search for them. Of course, deep inside, I honestly want to find out why they abandoned me. Sometimes, I couldn''t help but feel scared of knowing the reason why... but I guess I''ll never know..."


    "Hmm, it doesn''t matter anyway. What''s important is that you grew up as a good woman," Be reassured her, giving her sister-inw a gentle squeeze on her arm. "Besides, you have us as your family now. We''ll definitely fill in any missing space you might still have in your life..."


    "I''ll keep that in mind," Jayra chuckled. "Anyway, I''ll be turning right here. Good night, Be."


    Be nodded, letting go of Jayra''s arm as she replied, "Good night, Sis."


    Letting Jayra leave, Be continued walking towards the bedchamber she was currently using in the castle. Well, she could actually just go back to their territory since she had a few more avable days left to spare while waiting for the rest of the contenders toplete their respective fights to get into the final twelve.


    [I told you earlier that we should''ve just gone home,] Poona interrupted her thoughts with a smug tone. [It''s not like we''re going to stalk Osman since we''ll be in our own home anyway!]


    Be inwardly sighed. Poona was right. She really had nothing to do inside the castle beyond just waiting for time to pass.


    Absently walking forward, she suddenly halted in her steps when she saw a familiar figure standing in front of her door. "Lord Osman?"


    Called out, the man turned to her with a smile as he politely greeted her, "Good evening, Lady Be. I was honestly about to knock to see if you''re still awake..."


    "I thought you''re still in our pack''s territory with my brother?" Be asked with knitted brows.


    "Indeed, I was, but your brother came back here to pick up his wife," Osman exined himself with an awkward smile. "And since you didn''t have a scheduled fight for a few more days, I thought that you would also like to travel back home with somepany. Perhaps we can do that tomorrow before sunrise?"


    "But I usually travel in my wolf form," Be teasingly chuckled. "Do you want a ride on my back?" It was the only traveling arrangement she could think of knowing that Osman didn''t have a wolf form.


    Thetter shook his head. "How about a slow journey with me riding a horse instead?" he suggested with a counteroffer. "I promise you won''t get bored with mypany. I can keep you entertained with stories about my life as a pirate, even."


    Be''s eyes sparkled at the offer. She was indeed waiting to hear more about Osman, especially about his experiences from when he was still a pirate.


    Nodding, she excitedly replied, "Sure... I''ll look forward to it then!"


    "Excellent," Osman nodded. He then looked her over from head to toe as he asked, "Also, why are you dressed like you''re still outside, mdy?"


    She didn''t know why, but Be couldn''t help but blush at the way he looked at her with such curiosity. For the first time in her life, she felt conscious about her appearance, wondering if she looked fine at the moment for him to even look at. She even unconsciously brushed her hair with her fingers, making sure that it wasn''t tangled up from her prior journey.


    "I was outside earlier," Be answered with an awkward smile. "Sister-inw and I visited ra in her mansion. After that, we had toe back to the castle, and I ended up offering myself as her ride..."


    "Oh, I see," Osman nodded with a warm and thoughtful smile. "I guess after all that traveling, you want to get refreshed and prepare for rest. I won''t take much of your time then, mdy. Have a good night''s sleep." He then gestured towards her room. "See you tomorrow. Please go inside..."


    "Good night to you as well, Lord Osman," Be nodded. "See you tomorrow."


    Making her way towards her door, Be had her hands on the doorknob when she heard Osman try and grab her attention again.


    "Uhmmm..."


    "Yes?" Be blinked in curiosity.


    "Can you address me as just Osman?" Osman requested with a bashful smile. "You don''t need to be formal with me, so can you drop the ''Lord'' whenever we talk?"


    Seeing his earnest look, Be chuckled and said, "Alright, Osman... How about ''Os'' for short?"


    "Anything is fine with me so long as you''re the one calling me that..." Osmanmented with a wink.


    [Such an amateur talker...] Be inwardly scoffed.


    [He''s adorable and really roguishly handsome!] Poona promptly countered. [I love him already!]


    "Good night, Os," Be said before turning around, opening her door, and heading inside her bedroom.


    As soon as she was inside, she quickly closed the door and helplessly leaned her back against it.


    "I feel weird," she murmured as she raised her hand to her chest to gently feel the rampaging beat of her heart. "This isn''t normal..."